Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and National Security Officials
Q Secretary Nielsen, would a government shutdown on October 1st affect any of these efforts?
SECRETARY NIELSEN: So what we have done, as you know, is - in 2017, DHS designated election infrastructure a critical infrastructure subsector. So we prioritize efforts, so any state that requests a vulnerability assessment, a hunt team, best practices, hygiene scans, et cetera, we will continue to prioritize within our budget.
So, thank you.
SANDERS: We'll take one last question.
Q Sarah, this is for the Director and for the General. Can you unpack a little bit more about what you said there? You said there was - a question for the Director and a question for the General, separately. Can you give us a better sense of who specifically has been targeted? We know at least two senators have said that they've been targeted by hacking or by people impersonating government officials. Is it members of the Senate, members of the House? Is it Democratic and Republican campaigns?
And then a separate question for the General.
DIRECTOR COATS: We follow a procedure that's been agreed on some time ago, in terms of - when we see this type of information, it is processed through the leadership of the respective house or chamber, Senate chamber, and then disseminated down to the individual member who was targeted. So we have taken that action that is in place, but I'm not in a position right now to release those names.
Q And would you support legislation imposing sanctions on Russia now that you're saying they have, in fact, interfered, or attempted to interfere?
DIRECTOR COATS: Well, we already have some of the - a lot of sanctions in place. And I would support any efforts that we can, collectively put together, to send a signal to Russia that there is a cost - a price to pay for what they're doing. And if we want to have any kind of relationship whatsoever in dealing with things of mutual interest, the Russians have to stop doing what they're doing, or it's simply not going to happen.
Q General, have you been ordered at all to - or authorized to conduct any offensive cyber operations in response to this?
GENERAL NAKASONE: So my guidance and the direction from the President and the Secretary of Defense is very clear: We're not going to accept meddling in the elections. And it's very unambiguous.
SANDERS: Thank you all very much. We really appreciate you being here today.
We'll take a couple more questions on other topics today.
Jill, go ahead.
Q Thank you. I want to ask about the President's tweet on North Korea. He was addressing Kim Jong Un. And he said, quote, "I look forward to seeing you soon." Are there plans in place right now, any discussion, about a second meeting? And also, he said he received a letter from Kim. What did the letter say? And did it address any of the reports that appear to show that Kim is not actually working towards denuclearization?
SANDERS: That's a lot of questions rolled into one. I'll try to address each one. And if I miss something, I'm sure you guys will point it out.
He did receive a letter. I believe he received it on August 1st. There is not a second meeting that is currently locked in or finalized. Certainly open to that discussion. But there isn't a meeting planned.
We have responded to Chairman Kim's letter; the President has. And that letter will be delivered shortly. Beyond that, I can't get into any further details.
Q Can you say whether he addressed the concerns about potentially building new nuclear sites?
SANDERS: I can say that the letters addressed their commitment from their joint statement that was made at the Singapore summit. And they're going to continue working together towards complete and total denuclearization.
Q Did the President's letter specifically address that?
SANDERS: Again, I can't go any further than what I just told you.
Q Ivanka Trump made two statements this morning at odds with positions of her father. She said the media are not the enemy of the people, and also called family separation at the border a low point. But what does the President think of the statements?
SANDERS: Certainly the President himself has stated that he doesn't like the idea of family separation. I don't think anybody does. We also don't like the idea of open borders. We don't like the idea of allowing people into our country if we don't know who they are, where they're going, and why they're coming.
The President wants to secure our borders, which is why he has asked Congress to fix the law. We haven't been unclear about what our position is here. We want to secure the borders. We want to change the law. It's Congress's job to do that. We'd like them, particularly Democrats, to stop playing political games and step up and do their jobs.
Q And on the press being an enemy of the people or not being?
SANDERS: The President is rightfully frustrated. Ninety percent of the coverage on him is negative, despite the fact that the economy is booming, ISIS is on the run, and American leadership is being reasserted around the world.
Just this week, the media refused to cover his remarks in Florida, highlighting efforts on workforce development. In fact, the pooler for the press said that there was no news made, despite the fact that the governor of the state joined with dozens of businesses across the state of Florida to announce thousands of new jobs.
That may not be news in Washington, D.C., but I can assure you that it's news in the state of Florida, that people that didn't have a job before this President took office have better opportunity and the opportunity to have a job moving forward. That's actually real news and something that people in the state of Florida and across this country appreciate. And that was totally ignored.
Not only that - before, a journalist on CNN claimed that the President hadn't taken questions in over a week, despite the fact that same journalist did a live shot from the two-and-two press conference that the President had with the Prime Minister of Italy just moments after making that accusation.
With this sort of misinformation and lack of interest that's so pervasive in the media, it's completely understandable for the President to be frustrated.
Jon Decker. Sorry, Jon Decker, go ahead.
Q Thanks a lot, Sarah. I wanted to ask you about the conference call that took place yesterday, involving U.S.-China trade relations. Is there a timeline as to when, or if, the President may pull the trigger and impose harsher sanctions on China, harsher tariffs on China?
SANDERS: We're continuing to monitor that process. And when we have an announcement on that, we'll certainly let you know.
Jonathan.
Q Is the goal at the end of the day -
SANDERS: Sorry -
Q Really quickly. Is the goal at the end of the day to get China back to the negotiating table the way they were at the negotiating table with American trade officials just a few months ago?
SANDERS: The goal at the end of the day is to end the unfair trade practices that China has engaged in for decades and that the administrations before this President have ignored.
Jonathan.
Q Returning to the question of election security, the President has said other people also may have been involved in the efforts to interfere with the 2016 election. To any of the people that we saw up here, has there been any evidence from the intelligence community that there were others, besides Russia, that were involved in election meddling?
SANDERS: Certainly we know there are others, and we know that there are others that are considering making attempts in 2018, which is what our focus is moving forward. As you know, none of us were here in 2016, but we're here now. And the individuals that were standing up here just moments ago, the focus and the full weight of the government, asked by the President and directed by the President, is to protect the election infrastructure in 2018 and moving forward, and that's exactly what we're going to do.
Q But who were the others that were involved in interference in 2016?
SANDERS: I can't get into specific details. But our intelligence shows that there are a number of others that are looking at and considering engaging, particularly in 2018.
Q And he also said that they're trying to help Democrats. He suggested that the Russians would be trying to help Democrats in the midterm elections. Has there been any evidence whatsoever that Democrats are - that Russians are trying to help Democrats in the 2018 election?
SANDERS: Well, I think you can see just from what took place over - in the Facebook. I know Director Wray wasn't at liberty to speak about the specifics, and I can't get into a lot them. But I can tell you that a number of them were anti-President Trump. And that certainly isn't helping Republicans.
Jon. Oh, I'm sorry, I did - I called on your before. Sorry. Go ahead, Blake.
Q I wanted you to respond, if you could, to the CAFE Standards rule that was proposed by the administration today. The 20 states' attorneys general have already said that they would sue this administration, and this is part of their complaint. They say, "Freezing or weakening these standards put the health of our children, seniors, and communities at risk." It also "increases the rising cost of climate change for our states." The administration's response would be what?
SANDERS: That the reporting that we're reversing Obama-era fuel efficiency standards and preempting the tougher California standards is simply false. What the EPA released yesterday was a notice of proposed rulemaking, not a final rule. The notice lays out a series of options for how to go forward with CAFE Standards, and the notice asks for comments on the range of options. We're simply opening it up for a comment period, and we'll make a final decision at the end of that.
Q (Inaudible) 10 to 25 percent?
SANDERS: I'm sorry?
Q On the move on tariffs, potentially, from 10 to 25 percent, what was the thing that made the President say this is why I want to do it?
SANDERS: Again, the President has been clear he's going to hold China's feet to the fire, and he wants to stop the unfair trade practices.
Emerald.
Q Sarah, since you attacked our news organization, can I get a question from you before this -
SANDERS: Emerald, go ahead. I'll come to you next, Jim.
Q Okay, thank you.
Q Going back to election security, the other night in Tampa, the President mentioned voter IDs for elections. Moving forward with election security, is the administration looking at proposing a voter ID law, or ID law, or pushing a voter ID law?
SANDERS: I'm sorry, what was the last part of your question? There's a lot of feedback, so I'm having a hard time hearing in the back.
Q Sorry. Is the administration, as part of this election security push, also looking to do a voter ID law to try to push something like that through Congress?
SANDERS: Look, we're looking to do everything we can at this point to protect the 2018 elections, the integrity of those elections. And moving on, beyond 2018 to 2020 and after, we haven't made a final decision, but certainly looking at every option available to us.
It's not unreasonable - if I return something to a department store, if I have to cash a check, I have to show my ID in order to do those things - it's not outrageous that if you're going to vote to decide on who the leaders of the local communities, your state, and the federal government are going to be, that you would be asked to show an ID.
Jim.
Q I just wanted to follow up on Sara's question from NPR. She asked you about Ivanka Trump's statement that the press is not the enemy of the people. And she asked you whether or not the press is the enemy of the people.
You read off a laundry list of your concerns about the press, and things that you feel like are misreported, but you did not say that the press is not the enemy of the people. And I think it would be a good thing if you were to say, right here, at this briefing, that the press, the people who are gathered in this room right now, doing their jobs every day, asking questions of officials like the ones you brought forward earlier, are not the enemy of the people. I think we deserve that.
SANDERS: If the President has made his position known, I also think it's ironic -
Q Would you mind telling us, Sarah, if you don't -
SANDERS: I'm trying to answer your question. I politely waited, and I even called on you despite the fact that you interrupted me while calling on your colleague.
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